We are proud to announce 1 runner up and the 2 winners of our 3rd Annual Shavous Contest. We received 17 recipes (some with accompanying photos, some without), some recipes were mediocre, most were very g0od; they ranged from easy to intricate. We finally selected this three:

1st Runner Up

Grilled Mozzarella and Tomato Sandwich

Photo by Leah Rubenfeld – The best photo that was sent in.

Ingredients

8 slices country style bread, cut 1/4″ thick each

1/2 lb whole milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 12 slices

Sea Salt to taste

16 sun dried tomatoes

16 large fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

On each of 4 bread slices, place 3 slices of mozzarella. Season with salt, top with 4 sun-dried tomatoes, 4 basil leaves, cover with another slice of bread.

Heat 2 large nonstick pans over moderately high heat. When hot, add 1 tablespoon of butter to each pan and swirl to melt the butter and coat the pan. Put 2 sandwiches in each pan and place a heavy skillet on top of each as a weight. If the to is not heavy enough you can weigh down with canned goods or anything that will add weight. cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the bottoms are well browned and remove.

Add another 1/2 teaspoon butter to each pan, put sandwiches back on with the browned side up. Weigh them down again and cook until the second side is well browned (2 to 3 minutes).

We are proud to announce our 3rd Annual Shavuos Contest. Last year’s prize (a beautiful basket of cholov YisroelN&K cheeses), went to Pessy Haskelevich in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn; the year before thatBrachie S. from Lakewood took the top honors and also received a great selection of cholov YisroelN&K cheeses. Both times Brigitte Mizrahi, from Anderson International Foods graciously supplied the prizes.

Two winners will be selected and each will receive a basket consisting of: Italian Montaggio and Pecorino Romano, Pepper Jack, Mild Cheddar, Monterrey Jack and Aged Havarti as well as a jar of honey and a jar of Swiss Hero preserves. All cheeses are cholov Yisroel.

The last date for entries will be May 25th (the Friday prior to erev Shavuot which will start on Motzey Shabbat) at 12:00pm. We will choose the best dairy recipe using cheeses as one of the ingredients. We’ve had some great entries in the past, be creative and send us your best. Winners will be announced on June 4th, the first Monday following Shavuot.

You may enter multiple times if you believe you have more than one possible winning entry. We can’t wait to sample those recipes!